by Geonn Cannon
Madeline nodded. "Thank you."
"Sure. Now I need to go back to the office and figure some things out. Can I take your cell phone? That's the number they called, so just in case they didn't write down the number I gave them..."
"Oh, God." She pressed it into Ari's hand as if it was poisonous. "Yes. Take it. I don't want to talk to them again."
"Do you have someone you can stay with?"
Madeline only had to think for a moment. "Erica. We work together. She's the only person at work I've told about this and she said if I needed anything..."
Her voice trailed off and she began to cry. Ari guided her back to the couch and sat her down. She found an Erica Webber on the Recent Call list of Madeline's phone and called to see if she could come over. She waited with Madeline until her friend arrived. Madeline provided her with a photograph of Jenna she could use if it became necessary to question potential witnesses.
"Mrs. Morris, Jenna is safe right now. I'm going to make sure she stays safe. Whatever it takes and whatever I have to promise these guys, getting her back is my goal."
"Thank you, Ms. Willow."
"You're welcome. I'll let you know if I need anything else."
She got Erica's phone number so they could stay in contact. Madeline offered to drive Ari back to the office but Ari opted to walk. It gave her another chance to try finding where Jenna had gone after missing the bus even though her scent trail was all but gone by the time Ari left the house. It was a little past three, so she waited at the corner until the school bus rolled into view. She waited until the kids unloaded and then climbed on.
"This isn't a public service, lady."
"I just have a few questions. Do you drive this route in the morning?"
He nodded slowly, sagging in his seat as he tried to figure out how long the delay was going to be. He was overweight and dressed in a denim shirt open at the collar, and his lank black hair was dripping sweat onto his forehead. "What's it got to do with anything?"
"I'm looking for a little girl that's gone missing." She showed Jenna's picture. "Someone said she was late for the bus this morning and you went off without her."
"Hey, I have a schedule to keep. If the parents can't be bothered to have their kids waiting when I show up, it's not my problem if they have to drop them off at school themselves. And speaking of the schedule..." He waved her off.
Ari climbed another step. The seat behind the driver was empty and she grabbed the handrail to swing herself into it.
"Hey! Lady, you're not allowed to--"
Ari pointed at the camera mounted above his mirror. "You want to see that footage on the news? Because when this story breaks and people find out you left a little girl behind on the street, and that little girl subsequently vanished into thin air, they're going to play that video nonstop. I'm not talking about KING5, I'm talking about CNN, Fox News, MSNBC. You're gonna be raked over the coals by every talking head with a TV studio. You really want to be the man who got Jenna Morris abducted?"
He sighed, looked past her at the kids left on the bus, and pulled the lever to shut the door behind her.
"Smart choice, pal."
He pulled away from the stop and drove on. He passed the Morris house before he spoke to her. "My name's Louis."
"Ariadne Willow. I was hired by Jenna's mother."
Louis nodded. "She's a nice lady. Sometimes she walks her girl down to the stop. Is she really missing?"
"She is." She saw the guilt starting to settle over him, so she decided to give him a break. "Look, I'm sorry for reading you the Riot Act back there. I think whoever took her has been planning it for a while so nothing you did this morning caused her to be taken."
"She wasn't hurrying or anything. If she'd looked like she was trying to catch the bus, then yeah. Of course I would have waited another few seconds. But she could have been walking to a friend's house, or... I waited, but she didn't hurry up, so I just drove off."
Ari looked out the window as they arrived at the next stop. Kids filed past her to leave, a few of them snickering or trying to look at her without seeming interesting.
One kid stopped next to her. "Hey. What, you been held back twenty times or something?"
"Yep. But don't get discouraged. I'm sure you'll easily beat that record." The kid's friends laughed and shoved him forward. When the egress came to an end, Louis shut the door and continued on. Ari leaned toward Louis again. "Did you notice anyone hanging out around the bus stop? Watching the kids?"
Louis waited until he was at a stop sign then pulled a binder from a slot next to his seat. He handed it to her.
"Suspicious Incident Reports."
"The school makes you keep these?"
"Nope. Do it myself. Make the charts and everything." He ran his tongue over his teeth and flexed his fingers on the wheel. "I never wanted it to be useful. Know what I mean? I wanted to retire and throw 'em all away, and laugh at myself 'cause... 'cause no one would hurt a kid."
Ari nodded and opened the book. "Hope for the best and prepare for the worst." She flipped to the current week and then went back a month. The chart was separated into sections for morning and night, with incidents described in shorthand that Ari quickly cracked. Louis kept track of people he saw near the stop in case a pattern formed. She skimmed but didn't find anything alarming.
"What is this? Three days ago you wrote down C Br Corner LDA. That last part is Lake Dell Avenue, right? That's Jenna Morris' stop."
Louis nodded. "C is car, T is truck... it means there was a brown car on the corner. I remember it now. They were in that parking lot, way at the end away from the building. I thought it was weird, like they had just parked there to watch the street."
Ari pictured the street in her mind. Jenna would have had to walk past that parking lot no matter where she was headed.
"Were they there today?"
"I don't think so. I don't remember seeing anything suspicious."
Ari flipped to that morning's page just to be certain but the page was blank. She closed the binder and handed it back to him.
"No, keep it. If there's something in there worth knowing, I'd rather you have it."
"Thanks."
He exhaled and shook his head. "Thanks for not letting me kick you off the bus. I wanna help. If someone took that little girl, I want him to pay."
"You and me both, Louis."
He dropped her off at the next stop, which cut a mile off her walk back to the office. When she arrived, Dale greeted her with a smile.
"Hey. I got this book from Jenna's bus driver, but it's written in shorthand and he didn't have time to give me any clues. How are you with codes?"
"Just call me Alan Turing."
Ari responded to that with a blank stare.
"He worked on the Enigma machine in World War II. It was a code-breaking..." She shook her head and gestured for the notebook. "Never mind. Gimme."
"You're not impressing anyone with your brains, college girl." She kissed Dale as she handed over the binder. "You know I'm only with you because of your looks."
Dale swatted Ari on the rear. "Bad puppy. Oh, speaking of that, your friend Milo stopped by while you were out."
"Milo came by already? What did she want?"
"She just gave me her information so I could get in touch about that dinner she owes us. I was thinking we should probably postpone until this case is settled."
Ari went into her office and Dale followed. They sat next to each other on the couch, Dale's legs tucked up under her.
"Yeah. Postponing would probably be the best. I need to get some sleep. Then I'm going to go out as the wolf and try to pick up Jenna's scent. She went somewhere after she missed the bus. And according to everyone who saw her, she didn't seem too upset about missing it. Seven-year-olds don't have backup plans." Dale stroked the back of Ari's neck, and Ari closed her eyes. "Mm. That feels good."
"Bad change?"
"Yeah. And I fell off a table last night."
Dale leaned away and stood up. "Take off your clothes and stretch out."
"Are you trying to seduce me?"
"Always."
Ari chuckled and did as she was told. She left her underwear on as Dale got the massage oil from her desk. She stretched out on the couch and Dale sat on the edge of the cushion, turning to face her as she rubbed the oil into her palms. She started at the shoulders and worked her way down Ari's spine, moving her thumbs in tight circles. She smiled as she felt the muscles relaxing as she stroked them, thinking back to the times when this had been a nearly unbearable tease.
"You haven't asked me for this as much since we started sleeping together."
"Mm." Ari adjusted her head on her folded hands. "Maybe I'm more relaxed."
"So your transformations have been easier?"
Ari knew better than to lie. "I wouldn't say that."
Dale smiled. "So you're just nervous about asking your girlfriend for a massage? It didn't bother you when I just was your employee."
"That was different. That was just you helping me out, like when you put together my stashes. Now that we're together I feel like I'm taking advantage of you."
"Aw." Dale leaned down and kissed Ari's cheek. Ari twisted and met her lips. "Whenever you need me, however you need me, I'm here, Ari." She brushed Ari's hair away from her face and sat up to finish the massage.
Her years of treating the massage as a clinical necessity had taught her the topography of Ariadne Willow's body very well. She ran her palms over the smooth planes and dug her fingers into the tight muscles until they relaxed. When she started the massages she had let it act as a sort of mediation in order to keep her mind on the mechanics of what she was doing and not the fact she was touching a beautiful, half-naked woman.
These days, however, their massages sessions ended with sex more often than not. It was so easy to just let her hands slide lower, to cup Ari's breast and nibble her ear and let her hands roam in a more direct manner. She stopped herself this time, gripping the slight curve of Ari's hips with both hands and squeezing.
"You know, that area is bound to have at least a few security cameras. If they were aimed in the right direction at the right time, you may get a better idea of where Jenna went."
"Mm."
"I can call Detective Lorne while you nap."
Ari grunted. "Call the businesses directly first. See if they'll hand them over in the interest of finding a little girl. I only want to involve the police if we have to. Madeline is right; the police have made Missing Melody a priority."
"You're the boss, boss." She bent down and kissed the side of Ari's head. "You good?"
"Much better. Thank you, Dale."
She stroked Ari's hair. "The phone calls I take, the appointments I schedule, the notes I file? That's work. This isn't."
"Good to know." Dale got up and went to the door, but Ari said her name before she could shut the door. Dale turned back and Ari pushed up onto her elbows to look at her. "What you said earlier? Even the first day you started working here, you were never just an employee."
Dale smiled. "Good to know. Sleep well, Ari."
She turned off the overhead light and shut the door behind her.
Chapter Five
The sun was coming in low through the window when Ari woke. She had a typical moment of disorientation before she remembered where she was and why she was asleep. Pushing herself up, she retrieved her shirt and put it back on. She checked Madeline's phone, although she had made sure the ringer was on so it would wake her up if the kidnappers tried to get in contact. She could hear music from Dale's desk so she stretched her arms out and went to let her know she was awake.
"Morning, sunshine," Dale chirped.
Ari grunted at her. "No calls on Madeline's phone. Looks like the bad guys are sticking to the twenty-four hour window I gave them."
"Still planning to go out tonight?" Ari nodded. "I'll give you a ride and help you open doors and stuff."
"I appreciate it. What did you find out on the security cameras?"
Dale opened a window on her computer and then pulled a notepad forward. "I found six businesses near that corner, three of which have exterior security cameras. So I called them all and only one of them was facing the right direction. Savoretti Storage. I explained who we are and why we needed the tape and the manager agreed to take a look to see if there was anything to help us. Turns out, voila." She tapped a key and a grainy video appeared.
"What, that's it?"
Dale glared at her. "You just took a three hour nap while I magically turned back time and pulled a slice of the past out of the ether to display on your computer. A little gratitude would be nice."
Ari kissed the top of Dale's head. "You're a magician, Dale, but... the angle is bad, the image isn't clear... I'm not blaming you or saying you pulled off anything less than a miracle. But in terms of helping us with the case, I don't know how far this is going to get us."
"O ye of little faith."
She hit a button and the video came to life. The image was jerky, progressing like a zoetrope, still pictures spliced together to give the illusion of movement and life. Ari was impressed with Dale's ingenuity but disappointed with the results until a small purple blob appeared near the top of the screen. She pointed and leaned closer.
"There she is."
"Yep. Keep watching."
Someone appeared swiftly, seeming to appear out of thin air as he approached Jenna from behind. He lifted his hand in a wave and Jenna stopped. She turned to look at him and, after thirty-seven seconds on the clock, they started walking back toward the spot where the man had appeared. Another twelve seconds and they were out of sight.
"I never should have doubted you. Can you get an image--"
Dale presented a print-out of the man. The image was blurry, his face reduced to a smattering of colored pixels, but it was more than she'd had before.
"You're a princess, Dale."
"Screw that. I'm a queen and you're just the pretty face we present to the public."
Ari smirked and stared at the image. It took her a moment to get her bearings, comparing the odd angle to the street she'd been on that afternoon. "I guess this means I don't have to go out and sniff the ground to see what direction she went. The guy took her east, right?"
"They were walking toward the camera, so... yeah. That's east."
"There's a parking lot there. The school bus driver said he saw a car parked there three days ago. Maybe someone was watching for her. I wish I knew if Jenna was the target or just a conveniently available kid. The guy who called didn't seem to have any specifics about who she was. They could have just been looking for a kid out by herself."
Dale shrugged. "Tomorrow you can ask around again, see if anyone else noticed the car. Or if anyone saw Jenna with this guy."
Ari nodded and put the print-out down on the desk. "In the meantime, if I don't have to spend the night running around wolf-style, I'm going to take you out to dinner. I want to celebrate your genius in getting hold of that security footage."
"I approve. Do you want to invite Milo? I have her number here."
"Oh. I forgot about Milo." She took the slip of paper with the number. "Sure. How about Jak's Grill?"
Dale lifted an eyebrow. "Jak's? Are you trying to impress her?"
Ari rubbed Dale's shoulder. "She'll just be a spectator. I'm going to show her how I treat my lady for a job well done. Besides, we got the check from the police. It'll be nice to splurge a little."
Dale shook her head. "Actually Milo offered to treat, so it'll be her splurging. Not you."
"All the more reason to go somewhere expensive." Ari winked.
Dale chuckled. "You're evil. If we're going to Jak's, I'll need to go home and change."
"No, you actually don't. But if it'll make you feel better."
Dale blew Ari a mock kiss. "You should go change, too."
"Ugh."
"Don't ugh me. I know you, Ari. You're going to obsess
over this case until the girl is found. You deserve to treat yourself to one nice night out before it consumes you. Go home, shower, change. I'll swing by and pick you up in about half an hour."
Ari mock-saluted and left the office. She dialed Milo's number as she left the building and started walking toward her apartment. Milo answered on the second ring.
"Ahoy-hoy."
Ari blinked. "Is that how they answer the phone in England?"
"Nah, it's how I answer the phone anywhere. Who's this?"
"Ariadne Willow. Dale told me you stopped by earlier."
Milo cooed. "Oh, right. Sweet little redhead in a corduroy skirt, smells like apples and tea leaves. I can see why you like her. She said you might have to postpone dinner due to a case."
"Actually we decided to go ahead with it if you don't have any plans."
"Nope, no plans. I'd love to go out. What time?"
Ari pulled the phone away from her ear to check the time. "We can swing by to pick you up around eight. East Crescent, right?"
Milo confirmed and gave her the number. "I'll wait outside, flag you down. Should I dress up?"
"Nah, nothing too swanky. Just a nice dinner to welcome you to the country."
"I'm looking forward to it. See you around eight."
When she hung up, Ari made a note on her phone of the address just in case. A part of her felt guilty planning a big night out while Jenna Morris was still being held hostage. Madeline definitely wasn't going to spend her evening having a nice dinner with a potential new friend. But after spending a week tracking down the dogfight ring, Ari needed a mental health night and Dale deserved to have her girlfriend for at least one evening. She doubted the kidnappers would do anything before they made their next phone call. All they could do was wait, and Ari planned to spend the time preparing for their next bout.
#
Dale parked in front of the small stone house and glanced at Ari. "You're sure this is the right address?"
"Yeah. She mentioned she was living off an inheritance, and given the neighborhood I figured something swank. Even so, this is frickin' impressive."
The house was gray brick with a porch supported by pillars, looming up at the top of a wide rolling lawn. Milo came out moments after Dale asked for confirmation they were at the right place and waved, locked the door behind her, and trotted down the curved driveway. She climbed into the backseat and smiled.